Controlling odors in restrooms intended for disposal of human waste is a long standing problem that has been approached in numerous ways. For example, it is common to provide exhaust fans to continually or periodically remove odor containing air from the restroom for disposal out of doors where the odors will be dissipated. Another common method is to cover up the odors by providing a powerful but pleasant scent which, because of its strength, overcomes and masks the unpleasant waste disposal odors. As those of skill in the art appreciate both of these approaches involve dealing with the entire air volume of the room rather than with the immediate source of odors, which are most typically the toilets in the rest room.
A third approach which has been described in the prior art is to provide for ventilation of the toilets themselves. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,010 to Russell describes a ventilated toilet in which there is provided a electric fan motor which exhausts air from within the toilet bowl when the toilet is flushed and discharges it into the sewer vent stack. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,060 to Webb describes an odorless toilet in which vents are provided around the periphery of the toilet directly below the toilet seat, and an electric fan is provided built into the toilet to suck odor bearing gases through these vents and force them into the sewer outlet of the toilet remote from the bathroom interior. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,129 to Baker describes an odor removal toilet using an electrically driven fan for exhausting odor gases from the toilet bowl, in combination with a hydraulic pump driven by the same electric motor. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,361 to Sanstrom describes a toilet bowl eductor system in which an electrically driven suction fan pulls odor gases from between the toilet bowl and seat and injects it into the sewer through an auxiliary base plate between the toilet and the floor. These approaches all suffer from the limitation of requiring an electrical connection to the toilet and associate exhaust fan motor.
Hence, there continues to be a need for improved odor removing toilets which overcome some or all of the deficiencies or limitations of the prior art.